2 properties raided for illegal marijuana grows

The Colorado Springs Police Department and El Paso County Sheriff’s Office raided two properties Thursday and found pounds of processed marijuana in addition to more than a hundred marijuana plants.

According to CSPD, the first search happened at a house in the 3400 block of Foxridge Drive, and investigators found more than 18 pounds of harvested marijuana drying in a garage. The lower level of the house and garage were converted into marijuana grow operations. One person, Heridian Enrique Dominguez Duentas, was arrested on narcotics charges and a probation violation.

That bust led detectives to another address in El Paso County in the 20000 block of Oasis Ave. Detectives began scoping out the house and saw a truck leave the property. They followed the truck until it stopped and the driver got out, and that’s when they found about five pounds of marijuana in a bag.

When the driver, Jose Ariel Benjamin Cabrera, returned to the truck, he was arrested for narcotics charges.

Thursday afternoon, that house was searched by an El Paso County SWAT team, and they found four functioning grow rooms along with more than 120 marijuana plants and 25 pounds of refined product.

Another man, Victor Hernandez Baez, was seen walking away from the property, but he was confronted by SWAT officers and found with two more pounds of marijuana in a backpack.

All three were booked into the El Paso County jail on narcotics charges. Police are still investigating.